F r e e -The Last Race-
by AveraxMagna
Summary: Year 201X, the finale swimming race for Nationals is near but the fellowship between Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei is slowly breaking apart. Despite their victory against Rin Matsuoka, they are about to face a new conspiracy. When one of their members suddenly vanishes, one of them makes a deadly decision which could spell the end of their friendship and their lives...
1. PART I

**劇場版フリー：ラストレース****, Free! The Last Race**

Standing outside of his room, Haruka closes his eyes and remembers when he set the foundation of the Iwatobi High School Swim Club. He remembers the first days of the group between him, his two friends and a new member…their goal…defeat Rin.

Since then, they have competed against several teams, making them on the rise. However, Rin also has his own teammates that pitted against them during several of the races.

But finally, after many months of training, he and his teammates have finally defeated Rin's team in microseconds during one of the finale races in the local level. This expanded their goal to reach the nationals against many other teams, perhaps around the world.

He opened his eyes and walked back to his room, turning on his lamp and looking over a book of photos of his childhood. He was once great friends with Rin until the day he left and traveled abroad. Gone for many years, their separation has caused them to be enemies.

_Perhaps…but it is better this way,_ he thought, _I have my three other friends…and they sure want to see me smile more. But how can I be happy if I do not feel satisfied enough?_

He closed the book and set it off to the side; there were many other important things to fulfill such as exams. Thanks to their accomplishments, they were arranged to be at the Nationals for the Annual Swimming Race Challenge. But first, they had to stay qualified on their academics.

Nagisa finished his dinner and walked upstairs, heading to his room. His family was busy preparing for a funeral of his paternal grandmother who was suffering a brain tumor. Despite these depressing times, he kept a smile in his swimming and his friendships, especially with Rei.

Picking up the phone, he decides to make a phone call.

Rei Ryugaski stood outside on his aunt's apartment, watching the scenery when he saw a call from Nagisa. He opened the phone and answered.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Hey, is it just me or does Haruka seem more quiet than ever?" replied Nagisa.

"He's been quite ever since day one if you ask me," answered Rei, "Though I wish I wasn't manipulated in the beginning."

"No," said Nagisa, "He's not even talking to Makoto a lot. He seems deeply concerned."

"That's odd," replied Rei, "Are you sure he's just not being a tsun?"

"No clue. But we should be careful though," answered Nagisa, "Anyway, I'll see you in class tomorrow."

Rin Matsuoka sat alone in the kitchen, sending messages on his phone to his friends. The team was already defeated by Haruka's on their last visit. However, Rin did not like what he was seeing.

"You should have been aware of his moves," he read, "You were always good at that. What made you slip out now?"

He growled to himself and slurped on his noodles and Sukiyaki. Ever since they were defeated, his friends were angry at him since they assumed that he has restored his friendship or something with those other guys.

He was about to call them when his father walked in and said, "Hey, we got to fix up the leak in the basement."

"Fine," he answered as he turned off his phone and went downstairs to repair one of the pipes.

Makoto Tachibana sat alone in his bed, trying to fall asleep but his eyes were just shaking awake. He finally closes them and falls asleep.

He opens his eyes and finds himself in a dark void; he was frightened but forgot that he was by himself and there was no one to hide behind with.

A small flare of light appeared in the air and it was drawing closer to him. The light expanded into a humanoid shape and it spoke something about…a name.

"Suiei…Suiei…" it said.

Then, four more spheres of light appeared and transformed into more humanoid shapes. This time, they seemed familiar to him.

But before he could make it out, he woke up as the alarm went off as the sun began to rise. Did time in reality moved that fast?

_A dream,_ he thought, _just a dream._

During the common hours at school, the four boys finally met up. It was the first time since last week that they spoke to one another.

"So then," said Makoto, "Are you guys up for some café later today?"

"It would be nice," replied Rei, "We were all awfully busy these last several days."

"Well I can't stay for too long," said Nagisa, "I have to be at the funeral home this evening and it's not close by."

Haruka said nothing much during the conversation. Finally, Makoto got him to say something.

"What are you so concerned about?" asked Makoto, "What are you thinking?"

"It's not a big deal," said Haruka, "It's just hard to believe how long it's been already."

"For what?" asked Nagisa.

"Since the beginning…" answered Haruka.

Haruka walked up to the fence and looked out at the surroundings of their town. The others joined up as they watched the scenery too.

Rei turned his eyes to the right and saw something suspicious about that white van down below. His eyes blinked as he vaguely remembered about a white van with a group of people from a mysterious organization. He rushed off before the others could protest about his whereabouts.

"What's he up to now?" asked Makoto.

"I don't like the look on his face," said Nagisa.

Haruka once again, didn't say anything.

Rei carefully scaled at the gates between the entrance to the school and the outside. He carefully took out a pair of binoculars and peaked through, gasped on what he saw.

_What are they doing here,_ he thought, _this is very dangerous._

He sent out a text message to his friends, saying;

"Be aware of the white van outside, it has something suspicious to its name."

However, before he sent the message, the van moved away. Deciding that it was a false alarm, he deleted the message.

_Maybe it's just my paranoia,_ thought Rei.

After school, the four boys grouped up back at the front gate and headed out to the Café Grande to discuss about what they were going to do this summer besides the National competition.

"Well, I'm going to the states for college," said Makoto, "I got a full ride scholarship."

"Aw that's so cool!" smiled Nagisa, "But it'll be sad to see you go."

"I know," replied Makoto, "We'll keep in touch."

"It's just hard to believe that we'll be seniors while you and Haruka will be done," said Rei.

"Have you decided where to go yet Haruka?" asked Nagisa.

"I don't know…there are a few places here that I like…but they're just…well…rather on the pricy side for the room and board," said Haruka.

"Every college is going to be difficult to afford," replied Makoto, "And I wonder if our frenemy has decided where he'll be."

They walked into the café and ordered their drinks and sat by the window, watching the sun going down slowly.

"You know," said Nagisa, "It feels like I want to start calling you brothers. We are after all, a team…and look; we got more people to join with us."

"Yeah, if it wasn't for all of our efforts," replied Rei, "I give cheers to you Haruka."

"We shall cheer for our wonderful lives and for many more adventures that will await for us," said Makoto as they tipped the glasses together and drank. Haruka smiled a bit finally and the others were stunned.

"What?" he asked, "I'm happy too you know."

"Yeah," said Makoto, "You are not alone and don't be depressed any more, okay. You have accomplished a lot too as our leader."

They laughed and cracked a few jokes while they sipped on their coffee.

In a different café in Sametsuka, Rin sat alone as he watched the sunset. On a normal basis, he would be with his crew, but after that loss; he was abandoned and left alone. The people of his school called him a "Disgraced One".

He was not completely mad about his loss but rather sad on how things have turned out. During his times abroad, he was already alone to begin with and he didn't want to blend something new in his life.

He thought about his early times with Haruka, Nagisa, and Makoto as he silently spilled a tear to himself. As he wiped his face, he saw a strange white van with an unusual marking on it. However, it drove out just before he got outside to see it.

_Strange,_ he thought, _I've never seen such unusual markings._

He walked home, knowing that he has to prepare for his final exams before he can graduate and leave this town.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" asked Makoto.

"I thank you for the offer, but you know we got our finals soon. I need to prepare for them," said Haruka, "But you guys go on ahead to the park without me. I'll call you later."

The others thanked him and they headed out one direction while he walked in the opposite. He had to get home quickly so he can get some rest and prepare since the finals were drawing near.

However, he felt a sudden chill on his back; he turned but saw nothing suspicious.

_It's probably the wind,_ he thought as he continued to walk home.

In the depths of the unknown place, a tall figure walked through the shadows as he watched the screens. His circle of friends were preparing for the beginning of their unleashed darkness.

"So he is the leader of this circle, yes?" asked Daichi Kaede.

"He is," answered Kaito Hotaka, "Haruka Nanase; Alpha Leader of Iwatobi High School Swim."

"And does he not remember who he is? His origin?" asked Daichi.

"I have seen some unusual abilities about him in these videos when he competes in the swim races, but I don't think he realizes that yet," replied Kaito.

"The Legend of the Suiei Gods lives," said Daichi, "This is our opportunity to act. Our ancient ancestors placed a spell on them long ago…and they were supposed to be dead. Instead, those gods…I just don't know how they managed to save a piece of themselves. But we must get those powers, they must not proceed to win the Nationals…and save this world."

"Yes my lord," said Kaito, "The Task Force is out to get him."

"Good," answered Daichi, "Together, we can lure the others to a trap."

Haruka was just a block or two away from home when the winds began to pick up. He lost his footing and his phone slipped out from his pocket, falling down in front of him. As he bent down to pick it up, he heard footsteps from behind.

He turned quickly and kicked his enemy down. This stranger was dressed like a ninja with an unusual mask on its face.

"Who are you?" asked Haruka sharply, "What do you want from me?"

Before his eyes, more of them appeared and surrounded him. Haruka's heart was beating fast and he had to make action. One of them snuck around and took out a Taser gun, shocking him down unconscious.

The last thing he saw was the face of the mask looking at him sharply. His cell phone rang several times from his family and friends.

One of the masked guards opened up its face and answered his own phone, telling the boss that one of them has been captured.

"Excellent," came the voice, "bring him to us and we'll begin the experiment."

By late at night, the Nanase Family called the police and they called Rei, Nagisa and Makoto to the house. They were all stunned by the lack of Haruka's return. Thankfully Nagisa has just returned from the funeral home as he joined up with the others.

"He vanished?" asked Makoto, shocked.

"He hasn't been answering his phone," answered Haruka's mother; Tsukiko, "I hope he's okay."

"He's such a strong boy," said Nagisa, "I'm sure he'll be alright."

"Sorry for the interruption," answered one of the policemen, "but you three boys are his friends, right? Can you tell us anything about today?"

"We were out together at Café Grande," answered Makoto, "And we were just having a great time..."

Rei moved to the side, wondering if that white van had a possibility of his capture. Thankfully, he took a snapshot earlier but the phone-quality camera wasn't the greatest. He scanned through the contacts list, looking for a certain number.

_Ah-ha,_ he thought, _this is what I need. They'll know what to do. I hope they remember me._

Rei walked to the restroom and closed the door. The phone ranged a few times but a voice finally answered, "Please stand by as we set up your call to Sayuri."

After another minute, the voice answered, "Hello this is Sayuri; may I ask who is calling?"

"It's been a long time," said Rei, "You remember me?"

"Bloody heavens…Rei?" asked Sayuri, "But…how did you managed to get this number…oh wait…you didn't hand over that phone…didn't you?"

"I turned it into a normal cell phone but I kept the apps; however, I haven't touched them for a while. Please, I know this is a dangerous situation to your secrecy but I need your help…one of my friends has been captured," explained Rei, "Can you guys hack to our enemy and see if Haruka Nanase is on that list?"

"We still haven't been able to find the code to enter that system," answered Sayuri, "But…I can get you back to our headquarters by this weekend…as our honorable guest."

"Perfect…however, we got our finals coming up but this is an emergency," said Rei, "And I have two other friends that will want to go with me."

"Bring as many as you need to bring," she answered, "Just don't draw the crowd and you remember the passcode to get in, right?"

"Yes," he replied, "I'll see you soon."

"Be careful," said Sayuri.

He saw the others about to leave when he left the restroom.

"Oh we were worried you'd vanish too," said Makoto.

"It's nothing," he answered, "We should get going. At least our mini-vacation is tomorrow."

"Let's meet out by the park tomorrow morning," said Nagisa, "I don't like what is happening."

In a different unknown place…Sayuri walked from her office and watched as three of her members were busy at the computer, typing rapidly as they hacked through various programs.

"We got a commission," announced Sayuri, "We got company on their way."

"Who is it?" asked Yui.

"An alumnus…Rei," answered Sayuri.

"Oh my god, get out," said Yui, shocked, "It's him? You're kidding!"

"No…he has a request for us…a friend of his just mysteriously vanished overnight and Rei thinks that it has to do with our enemy organization because he saw that white van of doom earlier today," explained Sayuri.

"You know that we haven't managed to get into their system," said Ren, "Their passcode is nearly impossible to decipher with even the latest OS around."

"I know that…but we owe him…ever since that day," replied Sayuri.

**Flashback 10 years ago:**

The young Rei Ryugasaki stood in the same chamber where Sayuri stood, looking at the rows of several computers around. His parents were murdered mere days ago and one of his friends who was a hacker led him to this place.

"We welcome you, Rei Ryugasaki," said Sayuri, "to the Deception MIA. We will do our best to find what the plans about your parents' murder were and hopefully we can find you a new place to live."

However, they did not get far on this investigation. The original house was burned down and later the land was just an empty lot. Despite this, they managed to find a new home for him in the outskirts of Iwatobi where his aunt lives. However, since she was unaware of her relationship to him due to some "family drama", the apartment was yet to be fixed and adapted in order to make room for him.

During his stay, he learned some of the hacking tools on the computer and later on the devices when the technology evolved to mobile. At one point, he almost found evidence about his parents' murder but it turned out to be a false code that leads to an abandoned factory that was destroyed long ago.

At this time, he was given a false address while he was at the Uakashi Middle School in order to hide the existence of the organization.

However, one day, there was a break in by the police and the only people that were arrested were the regular members of the group; Sayuri and Yui were absent and were not even on the suspect's list. Despite this, they managed to move to a new city in a different place where a new headquarters was built. At this time, Rei was about to enter the Iwatobi high School and he was supposed to hand back his "special phone".

"You know what, keep it," said Sayuri, "Just in case. Your aunt's apartment is ready and she's waiting for you. Use it only when you must."

**Present Day:**

The boys group up around 10:30 in the morning at the nearby park. They sat and discussed and backtracked about what has happened last night.

"You guys, I think I can get help from someone…" said Rei, "I um…I called them last night and they said they can get into the system to find out more about our friend."

The other two looked at him as if he was crazy.

"But…weren't you…didn't you go on the school track team?" asked Nagisa.

"I did. However, I spent a large portion of my childhood in a place that is now a bit far from here. They can help us find Haruka," answered Rei, "However…I'm worried that their actions may not get us too far because they didn't find anything about my parents' murder long ago."

"What are these people?" asked Makoto, gaining more of a serious look, "What secrets have you been hiding from us?"

"I'm a hacker…" said Rei silently, "I have learned how to get information behind the scenes. I used it when I tried to find my parents but the project failed. However, if we are to save Haruka, you have to trust me."

"Just how can we do that if you are so calm?" asked Nagisa, "I don't even like what I'm hearing…I've heard bad stories about hackers."

"This organization isn't even been discovered on the internet yet. We have to get going though. I have enough money for us to take the bus and meet them. We are on a few days of break so we can get him back. We'll just tell our families that we are all going out," said Rei.

"Well, well, well," said a sneering voice, "Our winners from the race…did you lose something now?"

They turned to see Rin standing by the park entrance.

"What do you want?" asked Makoto.

"Oh nothing much…" smiled Rin, "Sounds like you trio are going out on a group date?"

"That's nothing like that," snapped Makoto.

"Since when did you get some guts to stand up like that?" asked Rin.

"Sounds like your ears haven't been cleaned out yet since you left us long ago," replied Makoto.

"Stop it!" shouted Nagisa, "You two should just squash the beef and forget that. We don't have any time to waste."

"Where is your Alpha Leader?" asked Rin.

The others were silent about it much to his annoyance.

"What? You keep secrets too now?" asked the rival.

"No…" said Rei Ryugasaki as he walked up to him, "he's disappeared."

"REI!" snapped Makoto and Nagisa.

"Disappeared?" asked Rin, his eyes narrow, "Like what do you mean?"

"We're going to get him back," said Rei, "If you want a rematch that is."

"What?" said Rin, "That's not what I meant to say!"

In his heart, Rin was actually shocked to hear this news. In fact, had he realized the papers going around and the tweets on the web, he would have learned that Haruka has vanished earlier and perhaps he would have gone out himself to find him.

"So then, you three are going out to find him?" asked Rin.

"We're leaving now," said Rei, "Come on, let's go."

The trio left as Rin slumped down to the ground, still shocked on what he has heard.

The three boys got on the bus, heading out the Shinjuku Ward of Tokyo. It was at least 4 hours to get down to the city and another hour on train to get to a specific area.

Thankfully, they had enough money to buy a dual bus-train pass that will last for a week despite the cost of money that was needed to pay. However, they were out of their last change since they didn't properly finished their plans to make this daring rescue.

"Neither of us has a card," said Makoto, "Nagisa and I…so how will we…"

Rei took out his card and said, "I'll pay along the way. You just make sure we are not being followed."

They got on the Tokyo Metro System and got on the Orange Line 3, heading to Shibuya. Rei mentioned that the headquarters was somewhere within Shibuya and that he will get the exact coordination on the place once they arrive at the city.

No one saw an older woman, acting like drunk getting on the train. Had Rei have seen that woman, he would have taken the others on a different train.

This woman was bleeding from her eyes but she was not screaming but rather was hardly breathing. Rei heard the unusual noise and saw her; triggering a flashback in his mind when he was back in the Deception MIA.

"Brace yourselves," said Rei, "We got company."

The woman choked and coughed as she was mutating into a vicious beast. The people screamed in horror as the beast unleashed a horrifying roar and sliced opened a few people, drinking their blood.

Rei stood out as the crowd scurried over to the other cabs. He clutched his fist to his shirt as he could feel the necklace glowing inside of him.

"So you wish…to be put to death?" he asked.

The beast charged up at him but Rei turned a kick flip and unleashed pins of water energy from his hands, strangling the beast.

The others were shocked on this as they saw such powers being unleashed from Rei. However, Nagisa was having a headache and fell to the ground. Makoto tried to get him back to his seat as he tried to get to Rei but the other boy was locked in a conversation between the beast.

"Where is our friend?" asked Rei, "Did your master capture him?"

"I have no clue," growled the beast, "Don't you understand…I wasn't like this…they did it! Those bastards took me into an experiment."

"Them?" asked Rei, "You certain?"

"Yes it's them," growled the beast as it sliced off and tried to escape. But Rei was too swift and unleashed spikes of water to stab the monster to death.

Rei turned to the others and saw Nagisa in a coma and Makoto far shocked.

"Who are you?" asked Makoto.

"I am a Suiei," came the voice from Rei's mouth, "Brothers…you have yet to return to your origins but thankfully I have arrived safely to help you. However, I cannot always be in this world…I am yet from…"

But the voice vanished as Rei coughed and fell to his knees.

"What happened to you?" asked Makoto as he saw the necklace glowing, "And what is that?"

"We are here," said Rei, "We have to move now before we are caught."

The train arrived at the station as they got Nagisa out and they carefully walked their way through until Rei recognized the car that belonged to Sayuri.

"It's been a long time now," said Sayuri.

"Just drive," replied Rei, typing in the passcode to get into the car, "We'll be caught if we wait."

They arrived at the headquarters in a half hour where they rested. Nagisa finally woke up and realized that they were no longer on the train.

Rei was busy talking to Sayuri, explaining the incident and how the beast spoke of that organization.

"I see," said Sayuri, "so the SCX is making a move now. We will try to attack their system again and see if we can hack in this time."

Makoto was fascinated on the technology in the room. Nagisa walked up to Rei and said, "I saw it…that light. I remember now."

"Remember what?" asked Sayuri.

"It's nothing…he's just going through amnesia," said Rei, "Please excuse us."  
They walked into a separate room with Makoto, making sure they cannot be heard or seen.

"I saw a light and a figure with four others," said Nagisa, "They were saying something about…a Suiei."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Makoto.

"We were…alive…long ago," answered Rei, "We were not always like this…as simple humans. But you don't remember yet since you didn't meet with your other self."

"But there is a story behind all of this," said Nagisa, "Our life as gods and ancient beings. I cannot even imagine how complicated it was."

"We were once rulers," explained Rei, "Given to title of Suiei…which stands for swimming if it was "suiei" but a "Suiei" was a title…we were lords from long ago but we still have yet to discover our early life."

"None of this makes any sense," said Makoto, "I don't remember anything living in the ancient times."

Rei took out his necklace and showed it to Makoto, "Our power lies in these necklaces…once you get the dream, you'll be given this for safekeeping."

"Assuming if we are gods, then why are we even trapped in these human like bodies?" asked Nagisa.

"I don't know," said Rei, "But I figured it is for an important reason."

They walked out of the room and saw a group of people trying to hack around while they saw Sayuri standing by her office, prompting them to enter.

"Welcome Nagisa Hazuki and Makoto Tachibana. My name is Sayuri, leader of the Deception MIA," said the lady.

"How do you know us?" asked Makoto.

"Your friend Rei," she answered, "He was a member of our organization long ago. He may have said some bits about this but it is our duty to help people to get the justice they deserve through our hacking abilities."

"We get a ton of people around the world that supports us," said Rei, "That way we can unlock mysteries across the globe in case of an international conspiracy."

"Your friend Haruka Nanase is the leader of your swimming club and he was captured by an organization that we know of as the SCX or known as the Swim-Cadet X. These people from what we have been told are up to a deadly project by taking people and using them as weapons and experiments. The members themselves were once swimmers like you boys but they became illegal scientists," explained Sayuri, "We do not know what they are currently up to since they managed to hide their data really well in the internet but we will do our best to locate them."

One of the members knocked on the door and Yui opened it. It was a young boy named Ren Nobuyuki who was rather shocked on something interesting.

"The Legend of the Suiei Gods?" asked Sayuri, "and are you sure this is a credible source?"

"I am sure…and the names of the Gods are striking familiar…in fact one of them just like the name of that boy who was recently captured," said Ren.

Ren led the boys downstairs and he showed them the screen. He printed out the information and handed them the story for them to read.

"The Legend of the Suiei Gods was a lost group of beings who were supposedly were worshipped by a civilization just around the Ancient Greeks. They were makers of the composition of the elements of the world of water both living and non-living entities. They entered the Ancient Greek Society as they were curious by the human races for many years when they entered in five foreign bodies that were located on a different country," read Rei.

"They were worshipped by many as they created miracles for the people. Until one day, evil forces put them under a spell in order to hijack their powers and use it for global destruction. However, they instead mysteriously vanished under unknown circumstances and no one has spoken about them except in legends," read Nagisa.

Makoto was just as confused but he smiled, "Well then…quite a legend. We all know that water wasn't made by entities or gods really…except for well…the bible for example."

Rei read the rest of the information by himself and he was even more stunned on what he has read. However, he didn't want to share it with the others since there was no time for story-telling. They had a friend to rescue.

_Haruka,_ thought Makoto, _we're on our way…just hang in there._

Haruka Nanase opened his eyes and found himself hanging on chains; half of his body was exposed but he wasn't completely naked. He saw a tall figure standing on the other side of the glass along with a group of people behind. The figure walked into the room and smiled on his prize.

"You finally woke up," said the dark entity, "We have waited…and now we can begin."

"Who are you?" he growled, "What is this place?"

"My…such a rude awakening aren't we?" replied Daichi, "But I guess your memories haven't got to you yet. It's like no matter what you do…every time you try to see yourself with that tsundere personality…just as you are about to question yourself…you just get thrown out by another question."

"I…what?" he snapped.

"You can reveal yourself…Suiei," said Daichi.

"Suiei?" asked Haruka, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Master, his memories haven't returned yet," said Kaito, "We can't proceed till he remembers."

"Prepare the lab," answered Daichi, "He'll get them back soon. And then we'll take it all away from him."

Daichi walked up to Haruka and said, "You are very special…your body is human yet you are far beyond our kind."

"I demand that you release me," growled Haruka, "I am not whatever you call this Suiei…just why you all so interested?"

"There is something I wish to obtain…to control…and to discover…" replied Daichi, "Something I wish to manipulate…"

"And what is that?" asked Haruka.

"Just enlighten me, people change overtime…but only parts of it do and other doesn't…one's memories may be forgotten by the heart…but the body remembers," said Daichi.

His phone began to rang, annoying Daichi. He answered it, "Yeah?"

"It's me…I got them all safely here," said the voice on the phone.

"Excellent. Just make it all seem legitimate so they can do our work for us," replied Daichi.

"Just who are you people?" growled Haruka before his body was being electrocuted and fell unconscious.

"Prepare the bed and get him to the lab," ordered Daichi, "We have no time to waste."

Yui, the secretary of Sayuri led the boys to their rooms for the night; she slid the door open to them and said, "The bathroom is further down; we only got this one room available for you guys.

"It's fine," said Rei, "We'll just split the room into thirds from here."

"I will get a set of clothes provided for you boys as well," answered Yui, "We will begin to further investigate the SCX and hopefully find any clues for your friend."

She walked back while Rei and Nagisa prepared the sheets. Makoto sat alone in the corner, holding a small photo of him and the others when they were kids (excluding Rei at the time).

"What's the matter?" asked Nagisa.

But Makoto didn't answer; he was really tired and depressed. He finally closed his eyes as he fell into sleep. The other two boys gave him a blanket and they rest as well.  
Makoto opened his eyes and saw that he was in the same void but something odd was going on; he saw various faces of people in his life including the others.

A figure who looked almost like him (as if a it was a perfect copy) walked up to him and said, "I am so happy to finally reunite with your brother…I am Suiei Tachibana…we are the angels, the gods, legendary heroes to our people back in the ancient times."

Makoto was a bit speechless but his other self spoke out, "You are probably confused since your memory was clogged up the most…although Haruka's Suiei is also having difficulty since your friend is being a tsundere."

"I…I cannot…why? Why us? Why were we chosen?" asked Makoto.

"Your world is filled with competition…not just sports between teams but the forces of nature as well. Everyone is always competing no matter what the subject is or what they are fighting for," answered Suiei Tachibana, "We were betrayed by our own people when a group of them wanted to seize our power and use it for their own selfish desires. Thankfully, we have escaped that fate but we have lost our body and soul; our bodies were taken to the civilization that you and the others live at currently."

Suiei touched Makoto's hand and said, "Remember who you are…remember your destiny…you and your friends must…"

Makoto woke up with a gasp as he felt Rei and Nagisa shaking him up.

"Wha…what happened to me?" he asked, holding the necklace in his hands.

"You got it too," said Rei, "Do you understand now?"

"Sort of," he answered, "But I just don't get it why us? We're friends and swimmers…"

"You're right we are," replied Nagisa, "But that was only a couple of years ago…now we are far beyond of who we are. Perhaps we were chosen because of this…that someone is going to hurt many others. I mean, haven't you remembered some of the most horrifying events around the globe?"

"Olympics…baseball, swimming, basketball…some of these sporting games had terrorists behind the scenes and look at where they ended up," said Rei.

"Well then, I guess we use what we have," answered Makoto.

"We got this organization and our powers to help us," agreed Nagisa.

They left the room and were given breakfast from Sayuri and Yui.

"We got a pool at the other end of the hallway," said Yui.

They ate quickly and rushed into the waters, feeling great that they were back in the coolness.

"It's a good thing we brought our stuff with us," said Nagisa, "Although I managed to get Haruka's set as a symbol of hope."

"Thankfully the bags we got are light; we'll definitely need our swim gear in case if we are in a situation that requires us," replied Rei.

They relaxed for about 2 hours in the pool but as time went on, they were rather depressed since it was not as fun without Haruka. Towards the end, they changed and sat in one of the meeting rooms, taking out their phones as Rei instructed them.

"Here, I'm sending you two an app that I was given; it will help you hack and unlock doors and stuff," said Rei, "In case if we get separated, you'll need this to escape. What you do is that you press the app and the program will run various numbers; just keep pressing random numbers and when the light turns green, you'll be able to proceed."

The app was successfully sent as the others' phones were given an installation. Once it was set, they heard a cry from one of the hackers.

"WE GOT IN! THE SCX'S PLANS! WE KNOW ONE OF THEM!" shouted Ren.

Back at the Sametsuka City, Rin walked alone as he was bored on his first day off of this extended vacation. He was rather confused from what he learned this morning about the others; was it all true? Or was it just an excuse that they were going to do something stupid?

His phone suddenly vibrated. He picked it up and saw a message from an unknown number. He was about to delete it when the same number appeared. He decided to open it and saw a strange looking app and what shocked him…

_It's Rei,_ he thought, _but how did he get my phone number? Did he ask someone? Or…_  
He read the message and gasped; they discovered that Haruka Nanase was captured by the CSX.

_So it's those guys,_ he thought as his mind suddenly went back in time…

**Flashback: 8 Years Ago**

After his completion of elementary school, Rin and his family went to the United States in California where his father, Daiki was given an opportunity to work abroad. The family disappeared after he finished his last day.

But the last conversation between him and Haruka went like this:

"So you'll be leaving us?" asked Haruka.

"I am…I don't know when I'll be back," replied Rin, "But don't worry. When I do, we'll meet again."

"You were awesome though on the last round," smiled Nagisa.

"We'll treasure our memories as we separate our ways," said Makoto, "With our hands."

The four placed their hands together in a circle and saluted each other a goodbye.  
When Rin and his family reached the states, he attended a middle school and continued to practice his swimming. He made a few friends along the way as they enjoyed their lives together. Rin would once in a while think about his former friends but they were only in the past…were they?

Then one night, Rin had a strange dream and saw a group of beings who told them that he will one day reunite with them at the "Darkest Hour"; it made no sense when he woke up but in his hands with a strange looking necklace. (However, unlike the others, he did not get his "memories" back.) He learned about a strange organization called the SCX where they are rumored to preform human experiments. However, he did not tell anyone else about that terminology for he feared that it would haunt him down.

He once actually tried to call them but he got no response from any of them. This made him a bit depressed and perhaps upset since he wanted to show them his new swimming style that he learned.

This would be how he would brag to Haruka when he finally returned many years later; however, what made Rin return to Japan was when the business abroad of his father were suffering from the effects of recession. They successfully returned to Japan and Rin vowed to find the others and try to see and compete with them.

**Present Day**

By sundown, Rin went up to his room, placed his bag down and unpacked his school materials. However, his heart was bothering him badly as he had no one to talk to; his teammates sent him to exile and his "frenemies" were on some crazy journey that he would ordinarily laugh at.

_I…I can't let them go like this,_ he thought, _I am just their rival…am I?_

"No…" said a voice, "You are far beyond special."

"Wh…who is that?" asked Rin and he turned in circles but saw no one.

His closet suddenly exploded as the pile of clothes fell on the floor but the necklace was glowing in a blood color.

"Th…that necklace," he muttered, "Why is it glowing?"

A thin beam of red light struck him through, knocking him down to the floor. In his mind, he would remember the vague visions of a group of legendary beings; one of which is supposedly his "alternate self" like in the same dream long ago.

"It's that dream…but why? I don't get it…I can't be…" he said quietly.

But his instincts kicked in as he grabbed the necklace and rushed downstairs, heading out the door. His father called out, "Don't be gone too long!"

However, Rin was already on the run, ignoring the warning…his heart in fear that he might not survive this mission.

_I will get them back,_ he thought, _rivals we may be on the outside…but in our hearts…we…we are brothers!_

"At a high school? Another one?" asked Rei.

"Yes," said Ren, "Apparently there has been a list of high schools that they have successfully raided where they took a sample of each swim team back to their headquarters. This gives us an opportunity to see what they do and hopefully we can find their location."

"But does anyone even knows what this organization is up to?" asked Makoto.

"We know that they are after the students who are supposedly reincarnated Suiei Gods. But why would they take to such measures is still a mystery to us," answered Ren.

"We have managed to locate the next school that they are going to," said Kichiro Haruto, "They'll be at the Ahuia High School with the Ahuia Alien Swim Club…tomorrow."

"We have no means of what uniform that they wear," argued Ren, "Just how will we get a hold of them from afar or nearby without getting caught?"

"About that," replied Isamu Hideki, "I can get to the school today."

The others turned to her and were shocked as she revealed, "I'm enrolled at that school but I take the online courses. However, I do wear my uniform when I go to special lectures or meetings."

The girl got up and told Yui to let Sayuri know that she'll be back in a few hours. The others sat down and wondered what the future would be in order to find their friend.

**The Next Day:**

The weather was getting dark as the thundering clouds were appearing in the skies. However, the hackers and the three boys were all prepared to raid the school and find the organization.

Isamu led the boys and told them that they'll be treated as visitors who plan to enroll the school.

"Hey Isamu," said one of the girls.

She turned to see her friends hanging out by the lockers.

"Are you in for a special lecture or something?" asked one of them, "And oh-la-la look at those boys."

"Oh um…" said Rei, dropping a sweat with a nervous smile.

"Hey ladies," smiled Makoto, "We are only visitors here and we plan to enroll here soon."

"Oh really?" asked one of the girls, "Well then, it looks like we'll have new members for our Alien Swim Team finally!"

"How did you know we were swimmers?" asked Nagisa.

"Oh just by the looks and all of that," laughed the girls while Isamu was getting annoyed.  
Finally she said, "Well then, we're getting late. We'll see you later."

Each of the boys and Isamu were given a plug-in GPS on their phones that connected to a tower outside of the school that led signals back to the car where Ren and Kichiro waited inside the Decep-Mobile.

"This is not looking too good," said Ren, "I see our enemy's car not far from our position."

"We can't let them get away, perhaps we can get a good screen shot or two," replied Kichiro.

Back inside the school, the alarms suddenly went off as the students freaked out while Isamu and the boys ran across the halls, heading towards the locker rooms; they split off to the separate chambers but they saw nothing inside. When they emerged out towards the pool deck, they saw a group of people holding a giant heavy bag that was shifting around.

"They got them, shit!" growled Isamu as she sent a warning to the others in the car.  
"Roger that," said Ren, "We'll keep watch on their actions."

Isamu ran towards the scene but by the time she got there, they have mysteriously vanished. The boys rush up and saw that they were too late.

"That van…" said Isamu, "Quick, take pictures of it."

Rei jumped to the side as he made a few quick shots of the van and sent it to the others.

"We got the pictures and the van did rush past us…but it had a scary message…it said…beware thy eyes of curiosity," answered Ren.

Haruka opened his eyes and found himself in a room of bright light; there were giant pieces of tiles that were shaped to form a massive screen. He was pinned down to the floor, completely naked except for a cloth around his "area".

There were a ton of tubes that connected his body to a giant vat of some liquid; perhaps blood. His head felt light and wanted to fall asleep.

Suddenly, the screens changed and he saw his friends standing outside in a court yard of some school where they were surrounded by the police.

"It appears that your friends are after you," said Daichi, walking into the room, "However, they will meet their ends now."

"Don't you dare!" growled Haruka as he tried to break free but the pain on his arms and legs from the pipes hurt him.

"Every movement you make allows a poison I have from another tube draw closer. Keep breaking free and that poison will leak into your body and you will die," answered Daichi.

Daichi turned off the screen and walked up to Haruka, "The time is getting closer…soon…you will remember…and I will take it away."

_A race against time,_ thought Haruka, _this race…not a sport, but a death match. I must break free. I…I…_

He once again made a move but was stuck and the poison tube was drawing closer to him. He growled to himself while Daichi smiled and laughed his way out of the room.

_Just who is this bastard,_ thought Haruka, _and why is he after us…but most of all…does Rin even know…hell why should I even care…he betrayed us already and ditched us dammit._

In a place far beyond this world, the five legendary beings floated around in space and time; waiting for their call to take action.

They were the Suiei Gods…once great rulers and helpers of the ancient world until mankind betrayed them who wanted to steal their powers for their own selfish reasons. However, with careful planning, they disappeared from the world and were converted to mythology.

"Brother Tachibana," said Nanase, "My other self is in great pain. He is stuck in our enemy hands."

"I am aware," replied Tachibana, "I will lend my other self thy strength to dodge the danger…but I will need the others' help to protect our bodies…and our vow. However, isn't your powers immunity?"

"Indeed you are correct," answered Nanase, "But it's only to natural toxins…not artificial ones…I cannot determine what type of poison this is. If this is a natural poison, he will not die…but if those scientists made it, then I cannot imagine the suffering that he will endure…and if his life ends…so will mine….and the world will begin to shake and tremor."

"But we mustn't give up!" said Hazuki, "We five are all here together now."

"Yes…our souls are together…but we need their bodies to reunite…thankfully I sent my instincts to my other self," said Matsuoka, "I don't think he would normally go after you four on his own accord."

"Do you think he'll be welcomed back?" asked Ryugasaki, "Despite what your other self has done?"

"I think so…their fates…are sealed and bonded…the longer when someone stays with, the more they care about each other," replied Matsuoka.

"I'm going to reach out to my other self," said Tachibana as he sat on a mysterious circled pattern and closed his eyes.

Thankfully for Rin, he had some cash prepared for the trip before he left; he arrived in the Tokyo Metro Station and used what he has read from Rei's text message about the Orange Line. However, he was told that there has been an incident a few days ago and there was going to be an inspection that may cause delays.

He was not ready to give up…his promise…was it for the sake of his reputation…or was it for the sake of his lost friendship?

He finally saw the Orange Line coming into the station but before he got on, he saw a number of people trying to crowd inside.

_Shit,_ he thought, _how I will get in?_

Suddenly, his necklace was glowing and his senses were sharpened and his body was adapting to his increasing speeding and jumping. The train finally departed but he ran after it and jumped onto the roof, clinging for dear life through the tunnels and out of the station.

_Those guys cannot survive those dangers…I must help them,_ he thought, _they are crazy to begin with but…if I don't do something…I won't have anyone left…_

Makoto was standing behind Rei and Nagisa and Isamu, shaking in fear of the police as they were surrounded.

"You four failed to follow the directions of evacuation," said one of the cops, "We will escort you out and bring you to the station."

Makoto closed his eyes and thought, _I…this…this cannot go on!_

His necklace suddenly glowed, sending a chilling ripple inside his body. His eyes turned neon as a cool breeze struck them. He stood out from the group and waited a few seconds before charging up at one of them.

The police fired their guns but Makoto dodged them and knocked several of them down. The remaining cops tried to arrest the group but he kicked them down till they were out.

"Wha…what was that?" gasped Nagisa.

"We don't have time…we need to get out of here," said Makoto as he grabbed the other boys and using his newfound powers, he held them tightly as they jumped down and raced back to the car. Isamu shouted and used one of her tools to break through the fence, finally catching up to them.

Ren and Kichiro finally located them and got them back on the mobile as they raced back to the headquarters. The weather was finally clearing up from the violent storm.

In a different lab from where Haruka Nanase was located, Chika Hiroko stood in a chamber with a different experiment in front of her. She was tasked by Daichi to check up on it as well as providing some "nutrition" to Haruka.

_Why did I even go capture that boy,_ she thought, _he's too handsome to be a part of this horror._

The beast in front of her growled.

"That's enough," she snapped as she took out her Taser, "Or do you want to go take another nap?"

Once the monster settled down, she went to the room where Haruka was held and handed him a bowl of some clear liquid.

"My master ordered me to give this to you," she said, "Drink up."

"I refuse," he replied, "What's even inside I can't even try."

"Tell me something," she answered, "Do you really remember who you are…like where you came from?"

"I lived in Iwatobi…I am a captain…I swim…I try to live out my life…why are you asking such questions as if I am not a human being?" he asked.

"Do you even know if you friends are even dead?" she argued, "Perhaps maybe they are gifted just like you."

"If you want to do me a favor and cut that tube with the poison, that'd be great," he said.

"There are cameras everywhere…I cannot do that…or else I'd lose and be punished," she answered.

"Punishment?" he asked, "Death?"

But she ignored him and left the room, knowing that even that question could not be answered.


	2. PART II (END)

Meanwhile, Daichi was talking to Momoko Satomi, the driver of the van who presented 3 boys and 2 girls that were captured by the other Task Force members. Chika walked in the room where they strapped the people onto the beds.

"They're still unconscious," said Momoko, "Are you sure they can play a role in this?"

"Of course," smiled Daichi, "They are after all…just experiments waiting to be controlled."

"And what about the other boys?" asked Chika, "You know that there are 5 in the Legend."

"They are…taken care of…" answered Daichi, "I have already taken measures and precautions…since those brats will believe in anything that is given to them."

Back at the headquarters of Deception MIA, everyone slumped down in exhaustion.

"In other words we were misled," said Yui

"I'm so sorry," answered Ren.

"It's not your fault," replied Sayuri, "I allowed this plan to go through, it'll be my responsibility."

"At least you all managed to get back safely," said Yui, "However, I looked through your phone records Rei and I saw that you sent a message to someone named Rin."

"Rin Matsuoka?" asked Nagisa, "But how? None of us knows his phone number."

"I hacked it," said Rei, "I did research before we journeyed here and I found his number…"

"You're crazy," answered Makoto, "Why are you asking for his help after he betrayed all of us?"

"I would have him with us even if they are rivals…I would hire hackers and criminals if I thought they can take down the SCX," replied Rei, "The SCX is the worst secrecy organization in this history of our existence…if they even get to Rin's school next…we won't be able to get to them and prepare. We must get to their base."

Makoto got up and went back to the room but Nagisa followed him, saying, "Just wait! Listen to me! How can you be so immature on such an explanation?"

"It's not about Rin," muttered Makoto.

"Makoto!" snapped Nagisa as he tripped over and fell face flat on the floor. Rei walked up from behind and got him back on his feet but Nagisa was in tears.

"How can you call that a friendship?" snapped Nagisa, "Haruka would never…"

"Haruka would not allow Rin to join us…he'd snap at you Rei," replied Makoto.

"We have no other choice!" said Rei, "We can either save our friend and win or we'd go home and forget about everything and this world."

Nagisa sat in the corner and answered, "Then if it makes you all feel better…then why don't we just go out our own ways…"

Rei walked up and slapped Nagisa across the face, "You fool! Have you given up at a time like this?"

"How dare you tried to hurt him like that," growled Makoto, getting up and walking towards Rei.

"STOP IT!" screamed Nagisa, standing in between the two of them, "I apologize…it's just that…this is all happening so fast for us. We can't let the outside hurt us like that."

Makoto sat back down, knowing that it was not worth to pick out a fight…it wasn't his nature.

"Perhaps it's these necklaces…maybe they're making us go against each other," said Makoto.

"It can't be," replied Rei, "They've helped us escape from the police remember…you fought them off."

"It's been 2 days since Haruka disappeared," said Nagisa, "I hope we find a way to get to him soon."

"I wonder if Rin will really help us," muttered Rei, "Or is he linked to our enemy?"

"We have to rely on each other…if we can't rely on our own senses," said Makoto.

Sayuri knocked on the door and they allowed her to enter.

"We got someone at the door," said Sayuri, "Perhaps you might want to go and greet our guest."

They rushed down the halls and into the main chamber where they saw a cloaked figure drenched in his hoodie and pants. The visitor removed his hoodie and saw the others, all of them were shocked and stunned.

"Well, I made it," said Rin, "Happy that I am here?"

"I'm surprised that you managed to get here by yourself," answered Rei.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…I feel like shit as a wet dog," replied the rival, "however, it's thanks to you that managed to get me here."

"I expect an apology later," said Rei, "To all of us that you owe."

"Whatever," replied Rin, "Let's just go in someplace warm."

"There's an onsen in the basement of this place," said Yui, "You guys can go there now to settle down your thoughts. We'll let you know if we get something."

Rin washed his hair in the showers while the other trio sat in the warm waters of the onsen; it was at least calm and peaceful after such a long crazy day. Rin walked into the room and joined the others.

"So then, how you knew these people?" asked Rin.

"I…well…it's a long story, but they helped me long ago after my parents were murdered," said Rei, "They helped me back when I was in middle school and they eventually got me to live with my aunt not far from Iwatobi."

The four were wearing these necklaces that were shaped as a silver heart pendant. From what they were "told", they learned that it had unusual powers that would supposedly help them reach to Haruka.

"You think Haruka got these yet?" asked Rin.

"I don't know…but it makes no sense on the legend of our past," said Nagisa.

"Oh I can explain that," replied Rin, "I discovered this through a dream back when I was in America."

He told them about a group of mysterious entities that looked almost like clones of themselves with the same necklaces that they were wearing. He received his after the dream but he didn't get the "memories" until recently.

"So it appears that we were all once alive before," said Rei, "As it was foretold. And that in order for our lives to be preserved, they stopped their time and froze in space, allowing their bodies to be remade into who we are now."

"Well don't quote me on that exactly," replied Rin, "The story is rather messed up to me…however, the power in these are real. And I know that we can use it to get Haruka back."

"Have you decided where to go?" asked Nagisa, "After your graduation?"

"I might go back to the states," said Rin, "I really loved it there…however…"  
He paused for a bit and turned to the side as Makoto was mostly turned away from the others.

"Dude, okay, I am sorry, I give an apology to all of you." answered Rin, "Can you just cut it out and focus on what is now?"

Makoto turned and replied, "Thank you. But don't forget our deal."

"I won't," said Rin, "I got to say that it does feel like the old times again. But it's strange though…however, I must admit, I do miss childhood. We were all once happy and then life slaps at our faces, turning us into pawns against each other. I had it the worst probably."

Nagisa swam out and grabbed a towel, "I'm already getting sleepy. I'll get our room ready to sleep."

"We all have to share a room?" asked Rin.

"It's the only one that they have available," replied Rei, "Although I do feel something suspicious about this organization; it wasn't like how it was many years ago."

They followed suit and grabbed their kimonos to sleep for the night. Time was slowly but yet quickly running out before the finals arrive as well as the Nationals.

"So then," said Rin as he sat in a corner, "What will you guys do for Nationals?"

"We haven't talked much about it," answered Nagisa, "That was going to be our topic for this weekend if it wasn't for this whole mess."

"I'm turning off the lights," said Makoto.

They rested and prayed that they can get out of this mess soon.

At around midnight, Rei got up silently and snuck his way through, heading back to the hacking chamber. He saw the hackers (or at least Ren) still awake while Kichiro was asleep.

"I was wondering what you were doing," said Rei quietly as Ren lowered his head on the seat.

"Why are you up still?" asked Ren.

"Let me do this," answered Rei.

"What? But you haven't been…" began Ren but Rei pushed him off of the seat and began typing randomly.

"Don't! STOP!" said Ren.

But before he could push him off, the screens went out of control and before their eyes, several pop-ups were unleashed with mysterious codes leaking onto the screen.

"SCX…Swim Cadet-X: The Front of Our Eyes…" read Rei, "This is just another project…however…"

Suddenly, there was a blink on the screen and Rei took out his phone and continued to type randomly. Before their eyes, they saw a geographical map of Japan and a zoom-in feature; as he zoomed in, he saw that there were a series of photos that were jumbled together. However, he recognized that the map on the computer was different than the map on his phone.

"It's a fake map," said Rei, "I knew it! They didn't add some of these buildings here even though they were built recently."

The other hackers woke up and saw what was happening.

"Rei!" said Yui, "How did you get this information? And what is this?"

"I found it…this is it…their headquarters!" gasped Rei.

He rushed up to the room and saw the others asleep; he turned on the lights and said, "We found them! We got the location of our enemy…and Haruka."

The others raced up from their rest and rushed with him to the computer room where he analyzed and explained what was happening.

"This is it," said Rin, "We'll finally get to see our fearless leader."

"I just hope we are not too late though," agreed Makoto.

"But this map…how was it fake?" asked Nagisa.

"That organization must have blended some other buildings around to hide their location from a residential search such as Google Maps," said Rei, "Now then, if I remove the images around and flip this building here…"

The images realigned and they saw what it looked like a massive tower that stretched far into the sky.

"I got to say you did great," smiled Sayuri, "You did an excellent job. We might just find Haruka Nanase there…"

"We might?" asked Rin, "We WILL find him."

"Shinjuku Tower X?" asked Makoto as he yawned.

"Yes," said Rei as he and the others drank some water and a few pieces of fruit and bagels.

"But isn't that place where a ton of business conglomerates meet?" asked Nagisa.

"It is," answered Rei, "But they also have events there too for anyone with big money."

It was already Sunday morning and there wasn't much time left till they had to return; however, their exams were set to be on Tuesday so Monday wasn't a big deal necessarily for attendance.

"The people of the SCX will be on guard," explained Ren, "So we will have to attack their base at night."

"You boys might want to wear some dark clothes," said Yui, "As well as hiding your faces…your hair color will bring out the obvious cameras to scan you."

"Where did Sayuri go?" asked Rei.

"I have no clue. She just disappeared this morning; perhaps she went out to the store or something," answered Yui.

"Were there any other swimmers or missing persons on the list?" asked Rin.

"There are," answered Kichiro, "A ton. However, many of them are presumed dead or something else. Haruka is still alive at the moment according to the status list. However, it is marked in a green font instead of the usual white color."

"We think that he's being injected with some poison according to what the code means," said Isawu.

The others were stunned, worried that their friend will die.

"We cannot let him die!" shouted Makoto, "He needs us!"

"And he is waiting," replied Ren, "We better prepare ourselves then."

Thankfully, the status of Haruka did not change as they all packed up their things and the boys put on their swimming outfits beneath their clothes.

Ren printed out a map to the boys and created some specialized case for them to place their cell phones in case they get involved with water or some liquid.

"We will send each of you boys a map in case if you get separated. Hopefully there will be signal inside the building," said Kichiro.

By nightfall, they arrived at the outskirts of the tower but there were a ton of guards with machine guns around. They drove the vehicle out of the street, heading out for a few blocks away. The boys were given a pair of headset pieces in order to communicate with each other.

"Will you all be okay with this?" asked Ren, "They are heavily armed."

"If you cannot move any further than your limits, just return back," said Isawu over the speakers.

"Thank you," said Nagisa as they got off from the Decep-Mobile.

The boys walked to a corner and planned out a strategy. However, their necklaces were beginning to glow as they feel their bodies being altered and enhanced with power.

"Our Suiei is talking to us," said Rin, "We must listen to what they have to say."

At first the language sound foreign but then, each of their eyes glowed in a neon color that enabled them to understand one another.

"Alrighty, let's go!" said Makoto.

They rushed through a different entrance while their progress was being monitored by Ren and Kichiro on their laptops.

"We better secure our connection line," said Ren as he typed in several codes.

"Yui, Isawu, did you managed to get any communications of our enemy?" asked Kichiro.

"We got their wireless," said Isawu through the speakers.

"Find out how many there are so we can give the data to the boys," replied Kichiro.

"On it," answered Isawu as she typed rapidly along with Yui standing by with her headset.

The boys broke inside through a different entrance with not much cameras. However, the lights were flickering around in a strange pattern.

"We haven't practiced much of our powers yet," said Rin, "But let's use what they tell us to do."

They ran through a dark corridor but what struck Nagisa is that he saw several deceased beings, screaming and moaning at them. He stopped to hear what they were saying.

"Nagisa! Don't stop!" shouted Makoto.

"No! We have to! My powers…I see the dead!" he cried out.

"What?" asked Rin, "Your powers allow you to see the dead?"

"Yes," he answered as he rushed up to them, "They are warning us to not proceed any further."

"But we have to, for Haruka!" replied Rei, "We cannot let anyone kindly stop us like this."

At the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a massive chamber with several Japanese Architectures around. The air was much cleaner but it was all dead silent.

Rin turned on his night vision ability from his Suiei and said quietly, "Be still and silent. We got company in this room. Big company."

"What are you talking about?" asked Rei.

Rin ignored him and took out a small rock and threw it with all of his might; at first they heard a small faint noise followed by a massive rapid fire noise of guns in the distance.

"Shit," muttered Makoto, "There are guardians here?"

"This way," said Rin as he used his night vision to find a safe path through behind the architects. They heard several footsteps from above as a group of armed beings race across the chambers.

"Where's the target?" one shouted.

"Over there!" said another, "But it appears that it's just a rock or something."

"Such pointless alarm," said one of the captains, "Our master says that we are targeting a group of boys, not rubble."

The boys carefully snuck through around across the giant chamber but there were many lasers being pointed around in search.

"We need a distraction," muttered Nagisa, "They will continuously search till we are found."

Makoto turned and saw a handful of shovels, rakes, and other random tools. They grabbed some of them and took them as weapons.

Before their eyes, the tools transformed into more formidable weapons; katana, crossbow, daggers, and spears. Inside their hearts, their Suiei Gods explained that they have unlocked their abilities to use water as a weapon since they have mastered their abilities.

They continued forth when suddenly, they heard a shout, "THERE THEY ARE! SHOOT THEM!"  
A rain of bullets soared towards them. Makoto turned and unleashed a wave of water spheres that exploded the bullets on contact.

"They're not just metallic bullets, they have some explosive inside," said Rei.  
Rin and Nagisa unleashed columns of water vortexes at the guards, drowning them away.

"This will buy us some time," said Rin.

They reached to the center of the room for they were told through the headsets that the entrance was somewhere on the floor.

Rin took out a hand gun, saying, "Stay close by me, we can't afford to lose each other."

"Where did you get that?" asked Nagisa.

"It was from Kichiro; he told me that I have to use this when we get closer to Haruka," he answered.

"What do you mean?" asked Makoto.

"It's obvious," said Rei, "Our enemy doesn't use humans…he uses his experiments, his creatures that he makes."

"Then those guards before?" asked Nagisa, "Are they…?"

"They were perhaps once people like us…but they were taken in," answered Rei.

The panel beneath their feet slowly opened as their necklaces glowed brighter.

"Okay, now that you're in, take the stairs and keep going," said Ren through the speakers, "Don't stop! Hurry!"

They rushed through the stairs but the tunnel seemed endless; it was narrow and the ceiling was not that high; sometimes they even had to bend down a bit to get through. However, up ahead, they heard something.

"It sounds like…water?" asked Nagisa.

Sure enough, they arrived at a cavern that was filled with water with the exit on the other side.

"Is the water even safe?" asked Rei.

"It should be," answered Kichiro through the speakers, "It may be cold though but use something to check. Oh and there's going to be a code that you guys will need to hack on the other side."

Makoto dipped his spear into the water and nothing appeared to have damaged it.

"Let's go then," he said as he and the others took off their outer clothes and jumped in with their bathing suits.

At first the water was really cold; nearly icy temperatures but it felt warm slowly as they got closer to the other end. However, by half way, they felt something stuck on their legs and a low rumbling sound was heard.

A gigantic octopus-like monster appeared from the depths and pulled the boys towards it. They struggled at first but then Nagisa stared into the monsters eyes and tried to see if it would say anything.

"He's hungry and mad," said Nagisa, "So much for a rescue."

But Rei's eyes began to glow with anger and using his free hand; it turned into a blade of water and he sliced the tentacle he was on; the monster screamed in pain as it let go of the others.

"We cannot survive as individuals," said Makoto, "We must combine our powers if we are to escape from this labyrinth."

The four placed their hands together in a circle and one moment; they were in the water; the next thing they knew, they were back on land with their clothes on that they abandoned.

"It appears our powers are getting stronger," answered Rei, "But…did Haruka remember his past yet?"

They took out the phones from their pockets (and thanks to that "cover", it was all dry) and they walked up to the code machine that locked the door.

"OVER THERE! ON THE OTHER SIDE!" shouted one of the guards from the far end of the cavern.

The boys turned and saw lasers being pointed at them as they fired the longer range missiles; as the boys dodged them, they impacted the door but it produced no damage. Nagisa was closest to the door and placed his phone next to the locking device and began to tap random numbers down.

Rin took out his gun and aimed blasts at the ceiling, impaling the attackers.

The others stood side by side, unleashing their powers against the enemies but more of them were appearing on boats or on other areas of the cavern.

Finally Nagisa unlocked it as the door turned from red to green light and the panel slipped open. The hallway that they were in was more like a medical lab or something as they saw tubes of boiling water with something (or someone) inside.

"We must be getting closer," said Makoto, "I feel the energy increasing in our necklaces."

**Flashback: 8 years ago, Pre-Rin Departure**

"Hey Rin!" shouted Makoto, "You want to join us?"

"What are you guys doing?" he asked as he saw the trio jumping into the pool.

"We're going to be learning how to swim like the pros!" said Haruka with a smile, "It'll be fun."

"Uhhhh," replied Rin, "Why?"

"Why not?" asked Nagisa, "We want to learn like you too!"

"Oh um…you think I'm that great?" answered Rin.

"Yeah, we believe in you," said Nagisa, "We want to be together so we can learn from one another!"

"Oh alright," replied Rin, "I guess I'll show you what I know."

Together, they swam in many different styles; from the front crawl to the butterfly and they were rather quite fast learners. By much of the surprise of the audiences, they even participated in various events.

Then one day, they all went out to the beach with their families and saw many people enjoying themselves.

"Let's go out into the ocean!" said Makoto.

"We can't," replied Rin, "My mom says it's too dangerous. There are many harmful creatures out there."

"The same was said from my father," agreed Haruka, "I've heard quite some scary stories."

"Yeah but there's a ton of wildlife to see," replied Makoto.

"Well, I'm sure we'll be able to see them someday…when we get older," said Nagisa.

Along with their families, they settled down not too far from the lighthouse. Makoto was growing more curious by the moment and he was beginning to wander off.

"Makoto!" shouted Rin, "Wait up! We can't just go there alone!"

"But you guys," he answered, "Look at this!"

They found a crab that was clinging onto the ledge between the rock and the water.

"Just how did this crab end up here?" asked Haruka.

"Who knows, it may have been washed up here," suggested Makoto.

Nagisa walked over the rocks carefully and said, "Hey you guys! There's something at the lighthouse!"

"We shouldn't be this far out," said Haruka, "The rocks are dangerous."

Despite this, they all scaled carefully to the lighthouse, knowing that they either may get away with this, or get yelled at, or suffer a tragedy yet.

"Wow…" said Makoto, "This lighthouse is huge! Is it abandoned?"

"What?" asked Rin, "You want to go inside?"

"I'd be nice…it's almost like those stories with haunted…" began Makoto.

"We should go back," replied Haruka, "Before we…"

But it was too late, a wave slammed into the rocks, knocking their balance. When they got back up, one of them was missing.

"Haruka! HARUKA!" they shouted.

They looked around until Makoto pointed down by the shore that Haruka was already into the water with a hint of red flowing around the vicinity.

"Oh no!" said Nagisa, "Is he hurt?"

They rushed back to the sands and got into the water before the waves returned although they were rather rough at first. Once they got him to shore, a crowd of people including their families stood, horrified.

"Haruka! Please wake up!" shouted Rin, panicked, holding onto his hand.

Haruka slowly opened his eyes and said, "Rin...Nagisa…Makoto…I'm so sorry…but thank you…"  
He closed his eyes again and the family called an ambulance to get him to the hospital. When it was revealed that he somewhat hit his head on the rocks; they checked for any injuries but somehow, there wasn't even a slightest crack in the skull. However, there were only scratches and bruises on the skin.

The families didn't lecture that harsh to their sons about exploring around for they were already horrified themselves. However, it didn't stop them from looking after each other until it was their last day at the elementary school.

**Present Time:**

The four rushed through the hallways, passing by various rooms, prison cells, and stasis tubes of who knows what were inside. They could feel Haruka nearby but yet it felt as if it would take them years to find their way through.

Meanwhile, Haruka himself was chained up on the wall but somewhat hanging over; his body was a bit flimsy but still strong as ever while he sleeps and dreams…  
He finds himself in a black void and saw a white, humanoid entity in not far from him.

"So we finally get to meet," it spoke.

"Wh-Who are you?" asked Haruka.

"I am the one you have been needed to be summoned for…I am the power of your past…your present…and you future…as well as your destiny. It was I who managed to grant you to be immune to that poison thankfully. As for my name and being…I am a Suiei…Nanase," said Nanase.

"But that's my surname…" replied Haruka.

"Suiei is also your name…your true name actually…the name of you and those friends of yours. You five were not always human but rather nature itself…but then you took on the body of the humans so you can learn how to associate with them," answered Nanase.

"W…will I be able to return to reality?" asked Haruka.

"Only your heart can tell you that answer," said Nanase, "And the heart of your friends'. Once you wake up, you will be embedded with my power…and if we are fortunate…we will meet again…farewell."

Haruka finally woke up and saw that he bore a silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant. However, the alarms were going off as he heard an army of people marching and racing through the hallways.

However, Daichi walked into the room with a sickening, satisfied smile, saying, "At last…you remembered."

Haruka narrowed his eyes and replied, "You stand back! You are a monster!"

He slowly breaks the chains that imprisoned him although the poison tube was drawing closer to his body. Haruka closed his eyes and carefully squashed the tube to block the poison while breaking the chains completely from his hands. In a swift motion he snapped the tube as the liquid dripped onto the floor.

"I'm impressed by your power," said Daichi, "however….that will all go away."

Daichi extended both of his hands and unleashed a blast of shadow at Haruka, hurling him across the room.

"Now then," said Daichi, "I have finally eaten one of the Suiei Gods…as I wait for the other…I'll use you as bait."

He held up Haruka's naked body and vanished into the darkness, heading back to the other lab room where he originally had him to the floor. But this time, the room had some other equipment.

He saw the screens showing the other boys racing across the hallways; they were nearby.

"It's time I give them a proper welcome…" said Daichi, "right…my cousin? You did very well into leading them here and you can show your face once they are settled down."

Back at the Deception MIA headquarters, Isawu and Yui watched the scenes unfolding for the boys. They were stunned to discover that they had the powers of the Suiei Gods.

However, there was no time to ask them any questions since they had to get them to reunite with Haruka as soon as possible.

"Their powers are quite amazing," muttered Yui, "The legend described them exactly as what it was foretold."

"Well, we are almost there," said Isawu, "How are you boys doing?"

"We're getting closer…however, it's hard to hear you girls," said Rei through the speakers, "I think our enemy is trying to disconnect us."

"Well then, at least you are almost there, we wish you good luck if something goes…" began Yui.

Suddenly, the door that led to this chamber exploded. The girls turned but before they could describe what they saw, everything turned red and black around them.

The SCX Task Force smashed every computer and stole any available mini-hard drives and data before tossing anything else out. With the girls slain at their feet, they placed their bodies and their guts in a black bag and carefully cleaned up any mess around that would get them into suspicion.

"They are exterminated," said Chika Hiroko, "Master…"

"Excellent," replied Daichi over the phone, "I will send you to Kaito on the report so he can update our list."

"Have they arrived yet…the boys?" she asked.

"They will be here when they get here," he replied.

The four boys continued to rush through the endless hallways; the alarms have finally shut off but they could hear several of the guards racing and shooting after them.

Suddenly, one of the walls exploded as a gigantic beast appeared before them. It swiped its claws at the boys, throwing them across the halls. The Task Forces saw the beast but the monster grabbed and ate some of them.

Rin fired his gun again, causing the monster to explode into steam.

"Let's go," said Makoto as he held his injury on the arm; the blood was beginning to rush out.

Nagisa groaned in pain as he had suffered the most injuries out of the others; his face was scratched heavily and was bleeding from his head. Thankfully, Rei managed to use his healing abilities to get him back on his feet but the pain was still sharp inside.

They turned to the right and finally saw a massive chamber that was filled with tubes with people and beasts inside. They were at first stunned to see so many of them suffer but they saw a gigantic door ahead of them.

"This must be the entrance," said Rin.

They carefully scaled across the room, heading to the doorway, making sure there were no traps or guards. As they approached to the door, they opened automatically but slowly as a bright wave of light struck them.

The four held hands carefully together as they walked in, side by side.

All over the ceiling, floor, and walls, the screen showed themselves walking in and in front of them…was Haruka on the wall in chains, naked, but his head was lowered.

Daichi got up from his seat and said, "Good Evening…Suiei Lords…"

The four boys started to shake and tremble as they tried to charge at their foe but their legs felt paralyzed.

"What the…" began Nagisa.

"The world is spinning," said Makoto.

"The hell is this!?" snapped Rin.

"STOP IT…!" shouted Rei.

"Guys, guys! What's wrong?" shouted Ren through the speakers but the devices were breaking away from the signal.

"I disabled the wireless communications so that we can talk privately…my apologies," said Daichi, "I am glad that you boys finally made it here. However, you should've not caused so much damage to begin with."

The antagonist walked over to the other four boys as they lied on the floor, trembling. Daichi bent over and looked at them individually.

"It's finally working…Sayuri," said Daichi.

"I gave them only the proper dose as instructed," replied Sayuri, "Although…I don't understand why it took so long for the drug to be effective…I mean, are they really the Suiei Gods?"

The other boys were shocked to see her as they thought they have trusted her; most of all, Rei was far beyond stunned since he was the one who knew her all of his life.

"You did it…" growled Rei, "The water that we had this morning!"

"Just why I had to give it to them?" asked Sayuri, ignoring Rei, "They're too handsome to suffer at such age."

"All of the other kids were very nice…until I sent the Task Force over…they would have never agreed to drug them…never," he replied, "It doesn't work on normal humans…only you guys."

Rei was far beyond speechless to say anything but he had to just wait for the right time and prayed that the drug would wear off soon.

"Now then, let's tell them what they have gone through, shall we?" asked Daichi.

"In the beginning…Rei…this is for you…the SCX was formed to study humans and manipulate them. It was originally done on any human beings; both athletic, average, obese and many others…but when we learned that the athletic people had substantial results; we explored on what they used to create such results,

"As for you other boys, we have learned your names through an ancient poem that was written long ago by the Greeks, Romans, and many other civilizations. However, the Greeks were perhaps more valuable to you until the Dark Code tried to curse you and drain your powers away. But then, you all have teleported into the void to hide yourselves and created new bodies that you all are in today."

"Very good," said Daichi, "Tell them more…"

Sayuri sighed and continued, "At first…Deception MIA was a small group; for they helped people on mysteries through crime and murder. Then when the SCX was formed, they anonymously provided funds to the group. After Daichi and I were born, we killed off our families and placed our headquarters to this tower, Shinjuku X while secretly being connected to Deception MIA. The members in the Deception MIA would believe in anything that we have leaked onto the internet, making them fools and puppets for us.

"What's more…is when Rei showed up…I saw that he had the power of Suiei God inside so I told Daichi but we were unable to get him with us since he was still a child; so we pretended to help your friend. Momoko, one of our members was tasked to constantly stalk you guys during your competitions to see if your powers were awaken yet…and it finally did during your high school years…up to this point. So she contacted us and we begin our plans."

Sayuri walked over to Daichi and said, "Now then cousin…I must ask you…why are you wasting time and money on these boys…their powers are really dangerous."

"It's because…I want this world to become mine…and for my son…my son is weak and has no talent…so I promised him that I'd do anything to get him to become the perfect being," he replied.

"Using so much of Shinjuku's money…and this tower's magic…" muttered Sayuri, "And you are aware of it, right?"

"Yes of course," smiled Daichi.

"Then we can expect more fame, power, and wealth soon once their powers are given to your son Yuu …and this world will be forever changed to not just swimming but to other sports as well," said Sayuri.

"I don't want any of that honestly…I only want the world and the Suiei Powers in my hands for my son," replied Daichi.

"I see…so bigger thinking then?" asked Sayuri.

"This world…is small…so very small…" said Daichi, "Right…Rei? Rin? Nagisa? Makoto? And…Haruka?"

Haruka opened his eyes and gasped as he saw the others laying on the ground in the hands of their enemy.

"Don't…you…dare…TOUCH THEM!" he screamed as his body began to glow.

The others could barely see what was happening but they saw tendrils of water smashing to Daichi and Sayuri as Haruka screamed in rage, blasting them to the wall. The chains on Haruka snapped but he fell to the floor.

The other boys finally reached to their hands for each, other, creating a circle of energy and aiming it at Haruka. However, Daichi unleashed a blast of shadows at the boys, blasting them all over the room.

"Now the time has come for you boys…to become one…inside of me," said Daichi.

Rin barely got on his feet as he tried to get over to Haruka but he fell to the ground again.

"Haruka…hear me…" muttered Rin, "Please…i…I'm sorry."

Haruka turned his head over as he saw Rin trying to reach out his hand to his. However, Daichi unleashed a spell over the two, sending them to an illusion from reality.

"RIN!" shouted Nagisa.

"HARUKA!" screamed Makoto.

"It's up to those two now," muttered Rei.

Rei felt something behind his neck; it was a gun pointed by Sayuri.

"My friend…I…I am sorry," she answered as she triggered the gun.

The others closed their eyes and gasped in fear for the life of their friend but when they opened their eyes; they saw that she shot Daichi instead…however, the man was still alive.

"You are such a fool…Daichi," said Sayuri, "I want you to disappear with them. I'll make it look like you were killed by those monsters…and I'll take it all."

"My…" he replied, "So you now want to become a bitch?"

"You always said that…you always looked down upon me…that LOOK OF YOURS SICKENS ME…" she screamed but a tendril of shadows stabbed both of her eyes.

"DAICHI!" she screamed as she fell to her knees.

"You asked for power? I'll give it to you," he answered, "Here…"

Sayuri's clothes exploded as her naked body floated into the air as she screamed in pain. The shadow tendrils swirled around her and encased her inside a spherical, shadow energy, cracking with lightning.

"I'll give you half of the boy's powers since you really desired it," he said, "But then that power will kill you so I'll regain it in a few minutes."

The three boys watched in horror as the madman tortured his last remaining family member into this darken sphere but they closed their eyes and prayed that Rin and Haruka can finally regain their friendship.

Rin opened his eyes and found himself in a sea of endless black water. Ahead, he saw Haruka floating nearby, unconscious.

"Haruka!" he shouted as he swam over, but the waves were really rough.

"Suiei Matsuoka," muttered Rin," hear out my prayer and lend me thy strength!"

The necklace flickered red at first but it stopped glowing.

"HARUKA!" he screamed as the naked body was tossed and turned into the air. Rin fought the rough waters with his energy left and saw Haruka's eyes closed. Was he dead?

He grabbed a hold of him finally and said, "Wake up! Please! Don't die on me or the others!"

But the body was not responding; it was cold as ice.

"Please…DON'T DIE!" he screamed as tears flowed from his eyes and landed on Haruka's body.

"I am sorry for mocking you in the beginning," said Rin, "My intention…or my feelings were that I assumed that you kept on swimming…but…why…why did you stop? Was something bothering you? Tell me…why did you give up until I returned?"

But Haruka wasn't answering.

"Just hold on," said Rin, "And we'll be home…I promise…we'll get you back safely with everyone."

Back inside the lab, the paralyzing drug finally wore off from the others and they got back on their feet. They charged at their enemy but the dark energy sphere unleashed three gigantic hands at them, smashing them through the ceiling.

"I normally run," muttered Daichi, "But my project is almost completed…"

The Shinjuku Tower exploded, destroying the buildings around the city as the people screamed in fear. The skies turned dark and the monsters that were made by the evil master were unleashed into the streets, the seas, and the skies.

It was like a Pandora's box that held inside the Earth for a very long time. Now it was finally opened.

The three boys found themselves in the skies, falling from great heights. Their necklaces were glowing very brightly like stars as they heard their Suiei Gods screaming to stand together.

"NAGISA! MAKOTO!" screamed Rei as he tried to reach out for them.

"REI!" they shouted as they reached out their hands.

They finally held together as they felt raw energy being unleashed; they floated in the skies in a triangular group, waiting for the others to return.

Rin held onto Haruka as he tried to find a place to get on land but this darkness was all that he could see; even with his Suiei powers were not working since the necklace wasn't glowing.

Haruka's mind was corrupted and dark…for all of his times being a tsundere…did he care for his friends? Or was it that he only cared for to defeat his enemy that was holding him now?

"You know, I really believed in you ever since we were kids," said Rin, "I may have ended up at a different school but I am thankful that I lost to you guys…it was that which allowed me to be free from the people who I thought WERE my friends…but were traitors."

Rin saw Haruka's necklace from his Suiei God. He took his off and placed his on Haruka's and held his hand tightly, whispering, "I…love you…I love you and every one of our friends…you were all valuable to me…please…come back. We are waiting for you…Haruka Nanase."

Haruka finally opened his eyes as the two necklaces glowed together. Rin took his back and smiled.

"Wha…what happened to me?" asked Haruka, "Where are we?"

"We have to get out of this void…and I think I know where we have to go…" said Rin.

He grabbed Haruka's hand and they dove down into the waters where they saw a small pinpoint of light ahead. However, it was getting harder to breathe but thankfully, their Suiei powers have returned and they swam rapidly to the exit.

They found themselves falling from the shadowed skies but they saw a bright light further down. They realized that it was the others who saw them.

"Now," said Haruka, his energy in full power and holding hands with the others in a circle, "AS ONE!"

Their necklaces glowed together at first with colors, but then a bright flash of light; wiping out all of the monsters and the darkness. The lab below exploded and vanished, leaving nothing but ruins inside a giant pit.

However, at the bottom of the pit, Sayuri was struggling on her feet and saw Daichi standing there, shocked that his project failed.

"I…it can't be!" he screamed, "It's all over!"

Sayuri walked up to him, replying, "I…I'm sorry…dad." Sayuri ripped out her disguise, revealing to be Daichi's son.

Daichi's eyes widened as he saw his son, all beat up from what he has done. His chest was bleeding terribly since the shadows stabbed him earlier.

"Father…why did you do all of this…? You knew that I was sick since the beginning…however…"

"How are you…how did you get on your feet?" he asked, "Your muscular dystrophy prevented you from…"

"One of the Suiei Gods casted me a spell through a dream," replied Yuu, "No…it wasn't just one…all of them came to me…and they granted me a miracle…to recovery…"

"But…then Sayuri…?" began Daichi.

"She was killed long ago before you married mom," said Yuu, "I took her form by request from the Gods because I wanted to you to be happy although you abandoned me…and mother. So I figured that I used Sayuri's form since you cared for her since you had no siblings in your family.

"However, we are not humans beings…I learned the truth," he concluded, "We were just made from the ashes from the sins of the Ancient World."

Daichi's body began to crumble away as he hugged his son tightly, saying, "I am so sorry…I wanted to take the energy from them so you could have a new body to live on…but you have already received it. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…you betrayed mother and me, just like how you betrayed the world and how it betrayed you," he answered as he too began to dissolve away.

They turned to see the boys who were far beyond shocked at what they were witnessing.

"Thank you…Rei," said Yuu, "for at least being a friend…I am sorry that I put you through all of this…but always remember…never abandon the ones you love…and that should be said to all of you."

They dissolved away into petals and ash, never to be seen again. The sun began to rise on a Monday morning…with the world finally at last…back into order.

By 8 AM later that day, the boys used their powers to return to their schools and planned to reunite later that day. The necklaces stopped glowing but they never took it off.

However, the news about that sinkhole at Shinjuku Tower X was mysteriously filled up with dirt, just leaving a shallow pit of glass, metal, and rubble around.

Once they were done, they all regrouped at the Metro Park in between both of the towns of Iwatobi and Sametsuka.

"Such a tragic story," said Rei as he read some information about the family, "Yuu was born with Muscular Dystrophy and his father was once a great swimmer but he didn't get many gold medals. He turned into science because he wanted to do research, but he lost his patience and he wanted to use mythology as a way to bring his son back to normal."

"Medicine is not an easy subject," replied Makoto, "Everyone tries to tamper it in hopes to achieve immortality."

"But what about us?" asked Haruka, "Now that our memories have returned…"

"I think…we are humans…gifted with powers…but at the end of the day, we make mistakes as well," answered Rin.

"We might have the power of the Suiei Gods," said Nagisa, "But…I feel that our mission is fulfilled…except for the Nationals."

"I'll come and support you," replied Rin, "For I have lost this race and I owe it to you guys."

"No," answered Haruka, "We would be more than honored if you join us…for this last race."

"But…" began Rin, "I'm not from the same school."

"I've already talked to the other swimmers from both schools and their policies; they're more than happy to have you join us since they have heard legends about our friendship," replied Haruka.

"Oh…Haruka," said Rin, hugging Haruka tight, "Th-Thank you!"

Just days after their graduation from high school or junior year, the five friends stood together at the pool with several other teams across the world. This was the time to win this race…without using any powers of course…except for their love and friendship with one another.

"Take your mark, set…GO!" shouted the speaker as the horn blasted.

Haruka jumped in first and used his front stroke and preformed his laps, then Nagisa went next with his breaststroke, and after was Rei with his dual-back stroke and front crawl, the forth was Makoto with his back stroke, and finally…Rin took his chance with the butterfly.

This race was challenging and twisted since many teams kept going back and forth with each other; it seemed like an endless challenge just like their journey.

Rin was locked in a tie against someone from Sweden but he made sure that his flip turn was strong which gave him a boost as some of the teams have "accidently" forgot to do that.

As the results went in, everyone was quiet yet cheerful to see who would win.

"Congratulations…Alpha-Suiei of Japan," spoke the announcer, "Your team has won first place!"

The five boys cheered and jumped in their seats as Rin cracked a smile. They stood together in a circle as they were becoming like new celebrities in the country.

Days after, they sat together at the park again, reflecting on their lives in high school from the beginning to the end;

"Well Rei and I still have to finish," said Nagisa.

"Yeah but it's hard to believe how far we made," replied Haruka, "It's really bittersweet."

"Honestly, if it wasn't for this journey…this race…we'd probably still be enemies," guessed Rin.

"Well, we got such a story to tell to our kids and grandkids someday," laughed Makoto.

A warm breeze swept through the park as the Sakura petals swirled around; they got up and held their hands in a circle for teamwork, vowing that they will meet again someday. One by one, they withdrew, taking separate roads.

Will they meet again was promised…and meet again they shall. Connected through the web, and by their bonds of the Suiei Gods…

The sun continued to shine on the planet as this story now…comes to a close…

THE END


End file.
